Kantar Worldpanel released the global smartphone operating system report for the first quarter of 2021. According to the report, following the release of the iPhone 12 series, the iOS system is available in five European countries, namely Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece, and Spain (+3.6%), the United States (+4.9%), and Australia (+ 3.5 percentage points) have achieved year-on-year growth. In the Android system camp, due to the hindrance of Huawei''s overseas market, although some brands have performed strongly, the growth rate is challenging to keep up with the pace of iOS.
Chen Yongxin, Director of Consumer Insights of Kantar Mobile Communications, said: "In the market, we cover, iOS has the largest share of growth in Germany. The iPhone accounted for three of the top five models in the market (iPhone 11, iPhone 12, and iPhone 12 Pro Max, respectively), with a share of 29.8%, an increase of 8.5 percentage points year-on-year. In the same period last year, only iPhone 11 ranked among the top five sales. "
Chen Yongxin also said: "Despite the overall challenges faced by Android in the first quarter of 2021, the sales share of individual brands has achieved substantial growth. Samsung''s sales share increased in the UK (+4.7%), Italy (+3.6%), France (+2.3%), and Spain (+1.6%). The Galaxy S20 series launched in March 2020, and the Galaxy S21 series launched quickly in January 2021 have supported this growth. Compared with the same period last year, in the UK, Australia, and US markets, Samsung has more high-end/super-high-end models in the top ten sold during the first quarter of this year. "
5G and battery life have become the main factors for consumers in many countries to consider purchasing.
What characteristics of smartphones are driving consumers to buy? Chen Yongxin said: "The purchase factors "screen size" and "camera quality" that has been consistently high before have declined in most countries. The "battery life" factor has become the highest-ranked in Australia, the United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, and the United States. To be precise, the "battery life" of the five European countries refers to the "charging speed."
The purchase factor of "camera quality" is still ranked in the top three in the five European countries and Australia. Under this factor, consumers consider "dual/multi-camera," "rear camera quality," and "photo quality under low light."
It is worth noting that, among the functional requirements of the operating system, "system cloud disk/backup storage" has become an upward trend in most markets. In the United States, the "built-in voice assistant" and "management applications/folders" demand factors have increased, replacing "camera quality." This demand ratio has also increased in the other five markets.
Chen Yongxin pointed out: "In the next six months, 13% to 20% of smartphone holders plan to buy a smartphone. Italy is the most willing, and France is the lowest. iPhone is the No. 1 brand in the United States, Australia, Japan, and the United Kingdom. In the five European markets, except for the United Kingdom, Samsung is the preferred brand. "
